Alston Bar & Beer New Feasting Menu Review Manchester

Last week, myself and a group of Manchester food bloggers headed to Alston Bar & Beef to review an exciting new concept: the feasting menu.

For those who are familiar with Alston Bar & Beef, you’ll know it’s known for it;s incredible meat offerings, such as steak and ribs, along with it’s own range of Gin and it’s central Manchester location.

I recently reviewed the set menu offering they have here, in which I opted for ribs which is not something I usually choose. I was so impressed with the service, food, drinks offering, price points and interior, that I was more than happy to come along and check out this new launch.

The feasting menu was served in the private dining area at Alston Bar & Beef, which is a beautiful little space with a long table for groups to gather. A few people ordered Alston’s very own gins, while some enjoyed the Pride cocktail, and others some red wine to go with the red meat that would be served as part of the feast.

Firstly, we were served up a range of starters, which I have shared photos of them below so you can browse the range that was served up. The feasting menu is designed to be shared easily, where you can simply load your plate up with a number of starters which all compliment each other and give a broad mix of the menu.

Take a look at the menu here for the full line up of dishes and offerings:

The chicken kebabs were mixed with herbs and spices, giving them a real unique taste and succulent flavour. I think the Smoked Salmon Rillette served with rye was my favourite of all, as the Salmon Rillette was just so creamy and delicious! I’m a huge smoked salmon fan in general, and the sharing slices of rye made it as fresh take on a smoked salmon starter.

In between each course, the head chef came out to talk to us all about the food offerings and the inspiration behind the choices. From small meat kebabs to vegetarian arancini balls, the selection gave a variety of tastes and made sharing the food super fun!

When it comes to the mains, this feasting menu is all about sharing different cuts of steaks with an array of sauces and sides.

The Butcher’s Cut steaks were beautifully cooked, which came presented in large open dishes and pre-cut so we could easily reach over and tear away as many slices as we wanted to try. Between us, we tucked into Porterhouse, Bone-in Ribeye and Rump Steak, all equally tender and with melt-in-the-mouth textures.

The sauces that came alongside the cuts of meat included Blue Cheese, Diane, Garlic Butter and Bernaise, which also worked well as little dips for the sides. I mean, I always like to dip my chips and potatoes into creamy sauces!

The sides came served us as side dishes piled high with thick cut skin on fries, crispy onion rings and bowls of mini potatoes.

And lets get to the bit that excites me the most at any restaurant review I take on: the dessert offering.

Here, we had three super large desserts created especially for sharing to feast on. One included a large chocolate and cherry swiss roll, a lemon meringue, and a delicious homemade Rhubarb fruit crumble. Custard pots were sent around the table to pour and enjoy over the array of sweet treats, and it was literally a pretty blissful experience.

Of course, I experimented with all three desserts. The lemon meringue pie stood out or it’s ridiculously rich and creamy texture along with zesty fruit and a soft crumbly crust and base. I’m not usually a fan of lemon, but my word – this was divine!

The feasting menu is a brilliant option for those wanting to dine in large groups and enjoy an array of tastes, flavours and textures in one sitting.